The Bible Version Debate

NIV vs KJV comparison part V

How Many Missing Words?

The most striking detail about the modern versions is that their New Testaments are clearly shorter than the Authorized King James Bible. The following depicts just how much shorter they are.

As translation from one language to another tends to expand or contract the number of words, an accurate picture would not be gained by merely counting the English words in the KJB, NIV or NASV. It is necessary to go to the Greek texts underlying these versions to obtain such. Even this will not yield a completely accurate count since a version will usually not follow one of the standard Greek editions at every point. However, the matter may be simplified by the realization that there are really only two kinds of Greek New Testaments-the Received Text and the Modern Critical Text. The Authorized (King James) Bible and all other Reformation Bibles were based on the former and practically all modern Bibles on the latter. We will not here examine their relative merits, but will rather show book by book and chapter by chapter that the Critical Text is shorter.

The two most popular editions of the Critical Text are: The Nestle-Aland 26th Edition, and The United Bible Society - 3rd Edition. These have a different format but their text is identical. The most widely used edition of the Received Text was that prepared by Robert Stephanus in 1550. The KJB does not follow Stephanus in every instance, nor is the NIV text identical with the Nestle-Aland, but they are extremely close. Thus these two Greek Testaments provide a basis for comparison.

The following gives a chapter by chapter comparison of the Stephanus-1550 (number of words given first) and the Nestle-Aland 26th. Keep in mind that word omissions are only part of the story, there are also many word alterations in the modern version text.

MATTHEW

TOTAL: 18,738 - 18,359 = 379 fewer words in the modern version text    

MARK

TOTAL: 11,646 - 11,268 = 378 fewer words in the modern version text

LUKE

TOTAL: 19,939 - 19,473 = 466 fewer words in the modern version text

JOHN

TOTAL: 15,957 - 15,636 = 321 fewer words in the modern version text*The modern versions either omit, place in the footnotes, question their authenticity, or place in brackets, Mark 16:9 - 20 and John 7: 53 - 8:11.

ACTS

TOTAL: 18,794 - 18,448 = 346 fewer words in the modern version text

ROMANS

TOTAL: 7,204 - 7,108 = 96 fewer words in the modern version text

I CORINTHIANS

TOTAL: 6,933 - 6,830 = 103 fewer words in the modern version text

II CORINTHIANS

TOTAL: 4,509 - 4,476 = 33 fewer words in the modern version text

GALATIANS

TOTAL: 2,251 - 2,230 = 21 fewer words in the modern version text

EPHESIANS

TOTAL: 2,462 - 2,421 = 41 fewer words in the modern version text

PHILIPPIANS

TOTAL: 1,641 - 1,629 = 12 fewer words in the modern version text

COLOSSIANS

TOTAL: 1,621 - 1,581 = 40 fewer words in the modern version text

I THESSALONIANS

TOTAL: 1,495 - 1,481 = 14 fewer words in the modern version text

II THESSALONIANS

TOTAL: 834 - 819 = 15 fewer words in the modern version text

I TIMOTHY

TOTAL: 1,624 - 1,591 = 33 fewer words in the modern version text

II TIMOTHY

TOTAL: 1,254 - 1,238 = 16 fewer words in the modern version text

TITUS

TOTAL: 666 - 659 = 7 fewer words in the modern version text

PHILEMON

TOTAL: 339 - 334 = 5 fewer words in the modern version text

HEBREWS

TOTAL: 4,990 - 4,953 = 37 fewer words in the modern version text

JAMES

TOTAL: 1,763 - 1,742 = 21 fewer words in the modern version text

I PETER

TOTAL: 1,724 - 1,684 = 40 fewer words in the modern version text

II PETER

TOTAL: 1,104 - 1,099 = 5 fewer words in the modern version text

I JOHN

TOTAL: 2,175 - 2,141 = 34 fewer words in the modern version text

II JOHN

TOTAL: 249 - 245 = 4 fewer words in the modern version text

III JOHN

TOTAL: 218 - 219 = 1 more word in the modern version text

JUDE

TOTAL: 452 - 461 = 9 more words in the modern version

REVELATION

TOTAL: 9,941 - 9,851 = 90 fewer words in the modern version text

SUB TOTAL:140,523 - 137,976 = 2,547* fewer words in the modern version text*

After taking the two well-known passages into account in Mark 16 and John 7:53 - 8:11 (as shown on pg. 36), the final tally is:

FINAL TOTAL:140,523 - 137,601 = 2,922 fewer words in the modern version text.  Thus, the modern version text is shorter in the New Testament than that of the King James Bible by about the total number of words contained in I and II Peter combined!

All the 5 NIV vs KJV comparison tables
have been adapted from Dr. Jack A.
Moorman's excellent manuscript,
MISSING IN MODERN BIBLES (pages 3 - 41).